My meal plan for the week - 9/7/20 - Plus a Free Printable Meal Planner!

Another week, another grocery order. Before Covid, I used to go to the grocery store 2-3 a week. Some weeks, I would make a plan. Other weeks I would just go to the grocery store and fill my cart. We were so used to spending $250-$300 a week on groceries. Plus any Target runs added to that. But once we bought a more expensive house, I knew that I had to cut costs somewhere. 

Meal planning really not that hard. Just finding the 30 minutes to an hour 1 day a week is all you need to find. I normally do it on Friday night or Saturday morning. I use a planner that I bought at Marshalls to plan everything out. Since I didn't start in the beginning of the year, I have more than enough pages that are unused to make my food list out on. 

Last week I only changed my menu once. I worked a late day and I wasn't in the mood to make beef enchiladas. Plus we had a Mexican dish not to long ago. Luckily, I froze the ground beef to use for another meal. Save what you can! 

 This week we are having for dinner:

Monday: Cheesy Pesto Chicken Casserole w/ Pasta

Tuesday: Sausage w/ noodles and carrots 

Wednesday: Keto Meatloaf w/ mashed potatoes and broccoli 

Thursday: Left Overs

Friday: Kids Pick

Saturday: Green Chicken Chilies Casserole 

Sunday: Spagetti w/ Meatballs 

After making my list, now it's time to see what I need at the store. Some things I stock up on, so I don't always need to buy everything we need. Keeping a good stock of non perishables is so important just incase something happens. I like to be prepared always! 

Here is my grocery list: 

I do a grocery pick up either Saturday or Sunday, whatever is available. The best part about this is that I don't have to get out of the car! I drive up and they bring it out to my car. They confirm with me and then open up the back of my suburban and load it all in there. That's it! 

Once I get home, I just make sure I have everything. I think only once, I was missing something. On the Walmart app, I start a return and they refund me right away. Also, If you don't like the quality of the item, they refund you as well. And if they have to substitute an item, you get charged the amount of the item you pick, unless its cheaper. I do notice that normally if I get a substituted item, the item that they used a better item. That works for me. 

Here is what I ordered this week. 

I only had 1 issue on some cheese. I ordered some sliced sharp cheddar cheese and when I went to go use it, it looked like it had mold on it. Now this cheese was still sealed. I may have been a fluke, but I didn't want to take my chances, so I processed a refund on the cheese. It asked me about the issue and refunded my money right away. 

After I do a grocery pick up, I normally get a survey on how my grocery pick up way. I am completely honest, as this is the time for them to make their great service even better. So once I get the survey, I will inform them of the cheese issue. 

Ready to make your own Meal Planner? Don't forget the free meal Planner! 

Want a free copy to use on your own?!? Grab it here! 

Is this something you would make while on Keto? Do you like to meal plan? If not and you want to start, hopefully this helps! Watch out every Sunday for the upcoming weeks meals! Let me know what works for you and what doesn't.  

Let me know! 

Find recipes like this and more on my Pinterest board: Keto

Please let me know if you make and how everyone likes it!

Watch out for more Keto recipes from me! 

Don't forget to help a sister out - Like, Share and Comment! 

Sign up for emails to be notified for Keto recipes and much, much more! 

Until next time!

Sara ;)

FYI- I don't know the nutrition facts. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.

My Favorite Keto Recipes from Pinterest! -

I have bought books, I have bought magazine and I have bought Keto Menus from websites. But my favorite place to find Keto Recipes is Pinterest! I really never cooked much and when I first got married almost 8 years ago, I made the same stuff- Spaghetti, Soup and Guacamole. I know... He must have not married me for my cooking skills! Luckily, Pinterest was new and made life to easy! I started cooking and baking all kinds of things! 

So fast forward to about 10 months ago. I kept hearing all about Keto this and Keto that... I have tried so many diets that works just a little or not at all. But hearing about Keto- I thought "how can you eat all that and lose weight?" Well my friends, it works! For me, It's slow. But Slow is better than not at all! 

So I'm going to share some of my favorite Keto Recipes that I have found on Pinterest!

1. BROCCOLI AND CHEESE STUFFED CHICKEN

from: https://thatlowcarblife.com

I have made this so many times and I LOVE IT! I have made it in the oven and on the BBQ. Both options are greats! The Bacon wrapped around it is the perfect finisher! So yummy! And each serving is only 2 g net carbs! 

2. Chicken Enchilada casserole

from: www.730sagestreet.com

This is a hit with my whole family! Even the baby! WE all love Mexican style dishes so this fits perfect for us! I'm the only one on Keto, so I make Mexican rice and re fried beans for them. And there is always left overs, so I take that to work. This is really easy to make to. I have made it in the crock put and on the stove top. Either one is easy! 

3. Taco seasoning cheese crisps

from: www.linneyville.com

These are great snacks and super easy to make! In my crazy life, I need easy! Best of all 0 CARBS! Shut the front door--- that make its even better! 

4. Keto pina colada

I have seen this Pin floating around Pinterest for a while a decided to try it... YUM! It's so great and refreshing! MY kids like it too! Its the perfect treat. I'm sure all the flavors are great. Once I try them, I'll let you know! 

So That's it for now. I have my eye on a few new to try. I'll let you know how it goes!  

Find recipes like this and more on my Pinterest boards: Keto

Please let me know if you make and how everyone likes it!

Watch out for more Keto recipes from me on Wednesdays! 

Don't forget to help a sister out - Like, Share and comment! 

Sign up for emails to be notified for Keto recipes and much, much more! 

Until next time!

Sara ;)

Keto Wednesday- Crispy Chicken

Keto Wednesday- Crispy Chicken

Welcome back! I knew you would come back for more! When ever I make my Keto Crispy Chicken my family LOVES it! It goes great with so much. They are pretty easy to make, because really- if they were hard, I wouldn't be making them! 

Here's what you need:

Chicken breasts (4-5) 

Mayonaise

Pork Rinds

Salt 

Pepper

Garlic Powder

Onion Powder

Blender

How to make them:

Set oven for 425 degrees.

I like to prep everything before I have to handle and cut the chicken. I put a whole bag of pork rinds into the blender and them them until they are completely blended without any lumps. Then I pore the blended pork rinds into a bowl and mix in a few shakes of garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. I don't really measure anything, but I would say at least a 1/2 tablespoon of garlic powder and onion powder. I stir those all together with a fork, so I know that I have mixed them well. After that, I put mayonnaise into a bowl. Now get your line up set up so once you cut your chicken, you are ready to go! This is the time to line your baking sheet with foil and spray it with oil.

That little finger is Mason helping out!

This is the pork rinds, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper

Now I get the chicken out and cut into strips. They can be big or small. Just however your family likes them! 

Once they are all cut up, throw some chicken into the mayonnaise and make sure it gets fully coated. I do this a few at a time. 

Then once coated, place into the pork rind mixture. Coat completely making sure there are no bare spots without the mixture on it. Now transfer the coated chicken over to the oiled baking sheet. 

Once you have done all of your chicken, put them in the pre-heated oven for about 45 minutes. 

Take them out and they are ready to serve! They will be crispy, just like if you used normal breading! 

I like to make regular broccoli with this since the chicken has great flavor already. This time added some home made Alfredo sauce to the broccoli instead of butter. And for the kids and the hsuband, I make them rice- normal jasmine rice. It's easy to make and they like to put soy sauce on it. 

Find recipes like this and more on my Pinterest board: Keto  

Please let me know if you make and how everyone likes it!

Watch out for more Keto recipes from me on Wednesdays! 

Don't forget to help a sister out - Like, Share and comment! 

Sign up for emails to be notified for Keto recipes and much, much more! 

Until next time!

Sara ;)

FYI- I don't know the nutrition facts. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.

Keto Wednesday- Enchilada Soup

Keto Wednesday- Enchilada Soup

I love finding something that my whole family loves and it is Keto friendly at the same time. This Enchilada Soup is a staple in the Barrington household! Everyone loves it and I can easily add side dishes to give everyone else carbs. Plus, its pretty easy to make so I make a big batch so I can take it to work and we can have it again another night.

Here's what you need:
Dutch oven or large pot OR Crock Pot (I'll give directions at the end)
4-6 chicken breasts
4 cans of red mild enchilada sauce (normal size)
7 cups total of chicken broth
1 onion- chopped
salt
pepper
cumin
garlic powder
butter
toppings: sour cream, shredded cheese, sliced olives

How to make it:
Take the chicken- thawed or frozen- (I normally use thawed or fresh- it's just faster) and put it the Dutch oven. Pour 1 can of enchilada sauce and 3 cups of chicken broth and cook for about 45 minutes thawed or 2 hours frozen. I like to flip the chicken every 15 minutes to make sure they are cooking evenly.

Cook your chicken

Add 3 cups of chicken broth

Add 1 can of mild red enchilada sauce

After they are cooked, shred chicken. I have to best little secret to easy chicken shredding- use your KITCHEN AID!! I know, it sounds crazy but it's a life saver! Just put the cooked chicken into the Kitchen Aid Bowl and use the paddle on a medium low setting. Don't over do it! You don't want chicken dust.

Once your chicken is shredded,  dump out the sauce you cooked your chicken in and put the chicken back into the pot. Add the other 3 cans of red enchilada sauce and 4 cups of chicken broth. Cook on simmer.

In a different pot, add butter and melt. Add your chopped onion and cook until soft. Once the onions are soft and translucent, add into pot with soup.

At this point, I add salt, pepper, cumin and garlic powder to taste. I don't always measure everything, just go by taste. I normal use a good amount of cumin in the soup.

Let all this simmer for about 30-60 minutes- stirring every 20ish minutes.

When done, laddle into bowl and add toppings. I like sour cream, shredded cheese and sliced black olives. This is usually how my kids want it too. They sometimes will add tortilla chips to dip into their soup. This past time I made white rice and added that in to their bowls before I added in the soup make it hardier. They loved it.

This is my left over lunch at work.

If you want to make in in the Crock Pot, its even easier! If I plan it out well enough, this is the way I like to make it! I add chicken, 3 cans of red mild enchilada sauce, 4 cups chicken broth, chopped onions, salt, pepper, cumin and garlic powder all in and cook for about 8 hours on high. Once done, I pull the chicken out and put into KITCHEN AID and shred chicken. I don't dump out anything, I just put the chicken back in and stir.

Volia! You just made dinner that everyone will love!

Please let me know if you make and how everyone likes it!

Watch out for more Keto recipes from me on Wednesdays! 

Don't forget to help a sister out - Like, Share and comment! 

Sign up for emails to be notified for Keto recipes and much, much more! 

Until next time!

Sara ;)

FYI- I don't know the nutrition facts. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.

Mother's Day 2019 Recap

Hey Everyone! I had a great Mother's Day this past Sunday. I got to go grocery shopping by myself. I treated myself to a non Keto Starbucks. The kids were mostly good- only a few meltdowns. My mom came over and I made us all dinner. I know what your thinking... "Why were you not being pampered by your Husband?" Well I'm not his mother and he had to leave out of town for a business trip for work. I may be the mother to his kids, but he pampers me many other times during the year, so I'm ok with that.

Before I get into how we spent Mother's Day 2019, I just want to take a minute to talk about the most important woman in my life... my mom. My mother has been an amazing mother to me. She has always been selfless by putting me first. Being a single mother, she had to work extra hard just to provide for us. She didn't get child support from my father, who was never in the picture. And she never complained that she had to do it all. I had everything I ever needed and she did it all! She is such a strong women for that and I am so thankful for everything she did for me! 

My mom walking me down the aisle at my Wedding! Love her!

I wouldn’t be the woman, the mom, the wife I am today without her. She has shown me, my family, and my friends who are like family unconditional love. She is always first to offer help with anything. I am so honored to be her daughter. Thanks Mom! I love you!

Now onto how I spent my Mother’s Day. As a mother with 3 kids, I am always happy to go to the grocery store by myself. Just sippin my coffee while I shop is like a little piece of Heaven to me. So my husband watched the kids while I shopped. He knows if I take the kids, I will forget half of everything on my list. I asked my Mom to come over for dinner. we love spending time with Mom Mom.

For mother's Day, I just got my mom a few little things. Here's what I got her:

I made Salmon, veggies, rice and shrimp kebobs. I baked the Salmon in the oven. I prep my salmon by melting a stick of butter and mixing lemon juice and pouring that on top. Then I top it with lots of minced garlic, salt, pepper and basil. Bake it for 40 minutes at 400. It always turns out great! I took the easy way with the rice and made 
Rice-a-roni. I grilled the zucchini and shrimp kebobs on the grill. The Kebobs were a little too spicy for our liking, but everything else turned out great. 

Even though my 3 kids drive me crazy most days, I am so grateful they are mine. I love watching them grow every day into little independent people. As much as I want them to grow up so they can tell me what hurts, or explain what they mean, I really just want them to stay little. Stay innocent. But they can’t. So I will help them when they need help, I will teach them when they want to learn from me, I will comfort them when they are hurt, and I will hold their hand until they are ready to be free. I will always be there, whenever they need me. I have had many jobs in my life, but the best job is being a mother. I love them today, I’ll love them tomorrow and I’ll love them forever.  

Until next time....

Sara ;)